12 Once Normal Baby Names . . . That Pop Culture Basically Ruined

This is a great list of how society has changes out reaction to names.  While “Chad” made the list, it wasn’t because of the “Hanging Chads”.  Read on…

You may think that pop culture has NO BEARING on what you name your kid . . . but even if YOU didn’t think about Michael Jackson when you call your son “Blanket,” everyone else will.  (???)

Lifehacker.com has a list of 12 “once normal” baby names that pop culture basically ruined.  They are:

1.  Karen . . . It’s now a meme for a specific kind of entitled white lady.

2.  Mario . . . It’s now basically 100% associated with a video game character.

3.  Chad . . . Like Karen, it’s now a meme for an “alpha dudebro”-type.

4.  Katrina . . . Most hurricanes don’t ruin the human names they are given, but Katrina wasn’t an ordinary hurricane.

5.  Hermione . . . It wasn’t a super common name before “Harry Potter”, but it was considered an “exotic” option.  Now, it has a much different vibe.

6.  Adolph . . . Arguably, the king of negatively associated names.

7.  Siri and Alexa . . . They’re now associated with somewhat-creepy digital assistants, and to use them you call them out by name.  That said, Siri was never a “normal” name, right?

8.  Dick and Fanny . . . They’re slang terms for naughty parts of the body.

9.  Donald . . . This name will now be associated with Donald Trump . . . for better or worse.  “Hilary” could’ve also made the list.  And to kids, it’s connected to “Donald Duck.”

10.  Waldo . . .  There will always be “Where’s Waldo?” jokes.

11.  Damien . . . Ever since “The Omen” came out in 1976, the name Damien has been connected with supernatural evil.

12.  Guy . . . No specific pop culture connection . . . at least outside of “Flavortown” . . . but it’s so widely used as a stand-in for boring, “generic member of the male species.”  Like, “just a guy.”

(Lifehacker.com)